balsamic vinager
balsamic Vinegar
is a authentic thick flavored vinegar typically used
in Italian food preparation. It is often used as a salad
dressing when combined with vinegar or as a marinade. It
is a traditional import developed in Modena, Italy,
where it has been Created since the Middle Ages and the
brand is protected by the Italian government. Unlike
common vinegars, it is very dark and viscous with a complex,
sweet flavor and is much more pricey. True Balsamico
vinegar has been aged 15 years or more.
The primo balsamico vinegars
have no other ingredients added to them - only
the grapes. Lesser ones will add brown sugar or caramel
to mimic the sweetness of the better ones. If a company
creates a "traditional" balsamic vinegar,
they will also create a less costly, but quality
vinegar as well.
View
our free Gourmet Balsamic vinaigrette Recipes.
Oil and vinegar Balsamic Vinaigrettes.
Balsamic vinegar is Produced
by reduced white grapes (typically,
trebbiano grapes) that has been boiled down to about
50% ("must") and fermenting that into alcohol.
It is then once again fermented to balsamic vinegar,
with a slow aging process
done in wood barrels that concentrates
the flavours. The flavour is intensified over years,
with the vinegar being kept in fine oak barrels, becoming
sweet, syrupy and very concentrated in flavour. Some
older balsamico vinegar is added to the "must"
to create a more complex and intricate taste, and to
add acidity.
The syrup is transferred
to oak casks to ferment in the open
air and then begins the long evaporation and aging process
that makes aged balsamico vinegar unusual. Balsamic vinegar
does not degenerate after opening as oxygen is part
of the aging process, you can treasure your finest bottle
and use it on special entrees. Do
not heat or cook balsamic vinegar
as it will destroy the taste.
As a key ingredient
in vinaigrette dressings, balsamic goes
particularly well with olive oil. Olive oil-balsamic
vinaigrette is outstanding with seafood,
fresh spinach and asparagus. A balsamic dressing does well
with winter veggies such as carrots, turnips, squash
and sweet potatoes, as well as fresh mixed greens or
baby spinach.
The Mediterranean diet,
characterized by cuisine such as Italian food, has been
gaining popularity in North America, where the consumption
of traditional Mediterranean foods, such as cold pressed
olive oil and balsamic vinegar, has been increasing.
Many people are finding this diet as a healthy alternative
to fatty foods and deep fried food preparation.
